The Shining Fragments
by
Robin Blackburn McBride

The Shining Fragments, is an adult general fiction account of the trials and tribulations of the Irish immigrating to Canada in the late 1800’s.    The protagonist Joseph Conlon, a resilient 8 year-old lad, boards a ship in Northern Ireland with his mother and sister but ends up growing up on his own in Toronto, Canada. The Shining Fragments is Robin Blackburn MacBride’s first novel, which she adds to her previously published self-help ebook (Birdlight) and poetry book (In Green).

“Mam died on the third day of the crossing.  After that Joseph stayed in the dark…”

Joseph is left with his sister Coleen on the first line of Chapter 1.  Soon after this he is separated from Coleen and spends his life growing up in an environment that is inhospitable for both his nationality and his religion.  Through the help of his friends and the people he loves he learns to survive and to find his place.  With age he even starts to understand the influences that make him the man he becomes.

McBride does an excellent job of portraying Joseph Conlon.  I have to admit that I don’t like him.  He continually makes himself a victim.  When given opportunities he walks away from them.  He focuses on himself primarily and does not treat those closest to him very well.  He is very much a follower and is extremely lucky that the people around him lead him down the right path.  McBride receives my accolades because she managed to make me really dislike Joseph without overtly making him out to be the bad guy.

There is an overall sadness about the book that I feel doesn’t break even as the book closes.  Again McBride does an excellent job of leading one toward this feeling without dwelling on tearful events that make it obvious why one should feel depressed.

I recommend this book to people who like emotional stories.  Life can be hard for some and they still do alright.  I want to thank NetGalley and Guernica Editions for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.